Top 15 – Best Moments from Elseworlds

The 2018 Arrowverse crossover, ‘Elseworlds’, did what it does best. It introduced new characters and gave viewers badass action scenes. Here are the moments we found unforgettable.

The highly anticipated annual Arrowverse crossover promised high-jinks this year, and it definitely delivered on all counts. There are so many moments from the three-episode arc that we loved and we’re here to share them with you.

Here’s a list of our top 15 favourite moments as they took place during the crossover. Spoilers ahead, so please watch the episodes before reading!

1 – “Oh Barry, what have you done this time?”

Oliver Queen wakes up in a bed and a home he doesn’t recognise – but the audience do. This is Barry and Iris’ home! What’s Oliver doing there? And why is Iris calling him ‘Barry’? Something is terribly wrong here.

Stephen Amell and Candace Patton totally make this sequence. The way Amell portrays Oliver’s barely held back disbelief at the uncanny situation he’s found himself in is hilarious, not to mention, relatable! And, Candace Patton somehow manages to keep a straight face throughout while also replicating the chemistry she usually shares with Grant Gustin for Barry Allen 2.0. Plus, surely I’m not the only person who’s thrilled Iris got to be with Oliver for a little bit – she always did find him attractive.

As amusing as Amell looks in the Flash suit (this season’s suit is a definite downgrade, in my opinion), he perfectly captures Oliver’s joy at having superspeed. And I love how he immediately blames the real Barry for this situation. Not that Barry doesn’t deserve it – we’ve lost count of the number of times Barry has messed up the timeline!

2 – “You Have Failed This City”

The Arrow/ Green Arrow’s iconic catchphrase has become a mainstay in the Arrowverse but none of the other heroes really have one of their own.

In ‘Elseworlds’, when Oliver’s The Flash has to take downsome baddies, he doesn’t quite know how to go about it as the Flash, so he justbarks his usual tagline, only for an astounded Cisco to remark that that is nothis line.

In a cool role-reversal, during Arrow’s episode of ‘Elseworlds’, the real Barry Allen, now Green Arrow, channels Oliver’s rage to menacingly growl “You have failed this city” to Amazo before firing off an accurate shot to take down the robot.

2 – “I’m the Green Arrow!”

As disorienting as it was for Oliver to wake up in Barry’s home, poor Barry is transported to this new reality mid-fight with John Diggle. Digg’s a strong guy and if not for Barry’s, or rather Oliver’s, keenly honed skills, he probably would have been laid out.

Not only does Grant Gustin display the absolute joy of Barry realising that he’s the Green Arrow (not Oliver Queen, though, that guy’s a douche), but also Barry’s complete confusion about the Arrow’s complicated suit. He then fires the wrong arrow during his fight with the Bratva and the Bertinellis (Huntress reference alert!) but manages to make up for it with some killer moves. Of course, Barry being Barry, he takes a break to ask Digg if he noticed his fighting skills. There’s a fight going on, Barry, concentrate. Apparently, it doesn’t matter what suit Barry wears, he’ll always be a loveable dork.

3 – Jail Break

Team Flash are unconvinced about the body switch between Barry and Oliver (Iris even points out that the real Barry isn’t her type – ouch!) so the Freaky Friday duo (or is it Quantum Leap?) concoct a plan to convince Iris. But they go about it the wrong way – Oliver goes to speak to Iris instead of Barry and does a miserable job because he’s just too, well, Oliver. Consequently, Oliver and Barry are knocked out and find themselves locked up in the Star Labs pipeline.

To get out, they need to channel each other’s abilities. Oliver instructs Barry on how to break his thumb to get out of the cuffs he’s in while Oliver gets a quick lesson in phasing so they can get out of the cell. It’s a really fun switcheroo especially as Barry is both appalled and excited at the things he can do, and because we get to see one of the first genuine laughs from Oliver.

4 – Welcome to Smallville

There was much conjecture about the Arrowverse making connections to Smallville in this crossover but they didn’t really pan out as expected, aside from the Green Arrow of Smallville appearing in the ‘Elseworlds’ teaser.

So, imagine our surprise when, just as Oliver and Barry are heading to Earth-38, home to Supergirl, the theme from Smallville, ‘Save Me’, rings out with the Kent farm from the show coming into view. Clark Kent, aka Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch), are fixing their truck, or rather, Clark is holding the truck up as Lois tries to fix it.

It’s a great re-introduction to Clark, who we have seen before on Supergirl, and a brilliant way for viewers to meet intrepid reporter Lois Lane, especially as she enthusiastically shares her idea for a new story. Plus, who doesn’t love a good throwback?

5 – Super Team-Up

Amazo is wreaking havoc on Central City and it takes the combined power of the Flash, Green Arrow, Supergirl and Superman to take him down.

This fight scene was so much fun to watch. The choreography is great and there’s nothing quite like the four biggest superheroes of DCTV fighting against something that’s duplicated all their powers. Barry and Oliver channelling each other was just the icing on the cake. What is it about angry Barry that makes him so cool, anyway? And, happy Oliver is something I could definitely get used to.

6 – Argus Meeting

Could Barry be more obvious about not being Oliver Queen? Not only does he join in with Curtis about the whole Freaky Friday vs Quantum Leap conundrum (this is a recurring theme for all the dorks, I mean geeks, in the squad), but he is super awkward when Felicity arrives. They were kind of together a long time ago but dude, don’t be weird. Felicity and Oliver have been having a tough time of it off late, and because Barry doesn’t know that, he actually makes things even worse. Poor Oliver was left cringing in the corner as he watched his already disintegrating marriage get ground to dust by Barry.

7 – Welcome to Gotham

We all know Gotham City isn’t the most pleasant place to be but one hardly expects to be mugged in the middle of the day only moments after landing! Well, as Kara says, there really doesn’t appear to be a ‘good’ part of the town but even so, this is a bit much, isn’t it?

Oliver’s attempts to talk their way out of being mugged doesn’t exactly work which leads to Barry losing his cool and punching everyone’s lights out. This personality swap is so not helpful and it lands all three of them in jail. Nice work, fake Ollie! And, trust the GCPD to throw the heroes in jail and not just the muggers. Typical GCPD.

8 – A Mystery Patron

Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) bails out Kara, Barry and Oliver from jail and has them brought to the Wayne Enterprises building, which is nothing short of a colossal mess. Kate is mysterious, and not a little forbidding, in her introduction, mainly because she does know Oliver (the real Oliver, that is) and knows that Gotham City doesn’t need another vigilante running about.

Kate only seems to warm to Kara, to whom she reveals that Bruce Wayne is her cousin, and later, they both figure out each other’s superhero identities. I really wish Kate had more screen-time that didn’t involve her talking about Bruce Wayne. She is such a cool addition to the universe, and her chemistry with Kara was amazing. Well, here’s hoping we see more of them working together.

9 – Earth-90’s Flash

Two Flashs, or they should be! Source: Digital Spy

Anybody else get serious Justice League vibes from when Felicity, Curtis, Caitlyn and John manage to contact Earth-90’s Flash? Except this scene was way better done and, in the words of Curtis, “very cool”! Flash-90 tells the team about the book they need to get before the breach closes, valuable information that powers the rest of the episode.

Of course, the team don’t actually know who it is they’ve seen. They think he’s Jay Garrick, or a version of the Jay Garrick from Earth-3 that they know. When Flash-90 is finally able to breach to Earth-1, he sets things right but not before a heart-breaking moment when Barry thinks the Flash before him might actually be his father.

Flash-90 makes an interesting comment upon seeing John Diggle, remarking that John isn’t wearing his ring. Are we to assume that on Earth-90, John Diggle is John Stewart, the Green Lantern? Arrow fans have only been asking for this for years!

Also, can I just say how brilliant it has been to see John Wesley Shipp don the 1990s The Flash suit? He’s been such a sport on The Flash, as both Barry’s father, Henry, and as the wise and helpful Jay Garrick. This role was just another feather in his cap.

10 – Batwoman’s entrance

Who needs Batman when you’ve got Batwoman? After months of promo shots, we finally get to see Batwoman in the flesh, and isn’t she marvellous?

With the Arkham Asylum inmates set loose and the otherheroes incapacitated or occupied, it’s up to the flame-haired vigilante to savethe day. Batwoman drops right onto an escaping vehicle with the Psycho-Pirate and a fellow inmate who lets out a blood-curdling scream when he sees whose stopped them. Quite the reaction! Batwoman then unleashes a horde of gadgets including her grappling gun and batarangs to stop more fleeing criminals. Talk about being a badass!

11 – Mirror Universe

With the Monitor returning the book to Deegan, reality is once again changed. In this new reality, the bad guys are the good guys and the good guys are, you guessed it, bad. Barry and Oliver are back in their normal identities, but now they’re known as the criminals ‘The Trigger Twins’, and they have no powers. Worse, the cops are former bad guys, Kane Wolfman (son of Deathstroke), Malcolm Merlyn and Ricardo Diaz. Ughhh!

But, even more terrifyingly, in this new reality, Earth is defended by Superman, except he’s not the loveable boy scout we know. This all-black clad Superman is none other than John Deegan with Supergirl’s powers because he was too chicken to be a woman. Super-Dick, indeed!

Another bad guy in this mirror reality is Cisco Ramon. Honestly, what is wrong with the Ciscos of this universe, aside from Earth-1 Cisco? Why is he always the bad guy? And let us not forget his trusty henchman, none other than Jimmy Olsen, Superman’s ‘worst pal’, apparently.

How much of the bad guy personality seeps into Oliver and Barry is unclear but Oliver does seem to enjoy doing bad guy stuff like putting children in danger and swapping stories about doing ‘time’ in Star Labs with evil Cisco. Barry, on the other hand, is almost ill from being evil, and from running too hard, of course. You know, like a normal person.

12 – The Danvers Can’t Be Broken

When Deegan changes reality, he recruits Alex Danvers, a closeted, angry version of her Earth-38 counterpart who hates Supergirl. Well, that is until Supergirl gets through to her. The Danvers sisters’ bond is strong, no matter what Earth and what reality they’re in.

Kara manages to get through to this Alex with a story about her childhood, something only a sister would know. She also tells Alex that on Earth-38 Alex Danvers isn’t a soldier but a leader, and a hero with a big heart, one with the possibility of having a wife and family at some point. It isn’t long before Alex joins Kara, proclaiming to evil-Superman that they’re sisters. Aww!

13 – Flash the hostage

In an unexpected subversive moment, Deegan takes Flash hostage to stop Superman from fixing reality, and it is up to Supergirl and Arrow to stop him. Supergirl manages to hold Deegan off for a while before Oliver steps in, threatening to kill Deegan so he can save Barry. Despite the danger, Barry tells Oliver not to channel his darkness and become a killer again. And Oliver listens.

Oliver and Barry have had such a topsy-turvy relationship but they’ve slowly become very close. I love this moment between the two of them, and that, for a change, the one woman in their midst wasn’t the damsel in distress.

14 – Superman references

In a nod to the Christopher Reeve Superman films, good Superman and evil Superman fly into the air to fight each other, and it is amazing! Deegan throws a helicopter at Superman and the two crash into office buildings. A bystander even looks at Superman and calls him Bizarro. Comic reference right there.

And there’s another nod to the Reeve films later in the episode when Barry suggests that he and Supergirl travel around the world at super-speed in opposite directions to slow down time. The slow-mo we get as a result is stunning; Reeve would have been proud.

Right at the end, when Clark finally proposes to Lois, the dress she is wearing is reminiscent of Margot Kidder’s outfit in the Superman films. And lest we forget, haven’t we seen that trick with the coal being turned into a diamond before? What a lovely throwback.

15 – Oliver confronts the Monitor

With Superman having learnt that Supergirl and the Flash are going to die, Oliver confronts the Monitor about changing their destiny. Oliver is a shouty, annoying know-it-all most of the time, but his impassioned speech is incredibly moving. He confesses that he is filled with darkness, and if a crisis is to be averted, he isn’t the best bet to save the planet. Instead, Kara and Barry, who are the epitome of goodness, deserve a second chance at life.

But, in a very Thanos-like move, the Monitor speaks of balance. If Kara and Barry live, somebody else has got to go, and it’s Oliver who must decide. Kara and Barry are alive now, so who did Oliver sacrifice? I’m afraid to find out.

Look, Oliver deservedly gets a bad rap and all, but he literally saves the day here, taking down Deegan and destroying the book when Barry and Kara have managed to slow down time. Interestingly, Barry figures out that Oliver spoke to the Monitor but we’re still no wiser about how it is that Barry and Kara are safe.

Honourable Mentions:

Sherloque’s cheque – Once Central City is safe, Sherloque hands Clark a cheque, but the boy scout declines what he thinks is payment for his services. Actually, Sherloque is late on his alimony cheque for his third wife, who hails from Earth-38, and wants Clark to deliver it. Way to pass the buck, Sherloque!

The Green Arrow’s new intro – Grant Gustin had a field day with this crossover. Not only does he get to don the suit and leap about as the Green Arrow, he even got to do the Arrow intro. Plus, it was pretty darn accurate!

Gary the bartender – The Legends of Tomorrow weren’t included in this year’s crossover but there was a brief nod to the team when Gary the incompetent Time Bureau officer showed up as the bartender at Cisco Ramon’s criminal bar. As expected, Gary showed himself to be a huge fan of the Trigger Twins, even calling them legends. We see what you did there, CW.

Lois and Clark – Yes, Superman has saved Lois multiple times during the course of history, but Lois gets to do some saving this time. She arrives with what is likely Steel’s hammer, using it to knock Deegan aside and free the book from his clutches. And when Lois falls, Superman is there to catch her, just like she knew he would be.

Earth’s greatest defender – Lois and Clark finally tell Kara that they’re expecting and will be moving to Argo. A decision they can only make because Clark knows that Earth is safe with Kara.

Next crossover – In the closing moments of ‘Elseworlds’, Batwoman calls Oliver to tell him that Deegan has made a friend in Arkham – the aforementioned Psycho-Pirate. Worryingly, Pirate foretells a future where the universe is about to change irreparably. A crisis that the Monitor predicted, a crisis on infinite earths. We cannot wait!

There were honestly so many moments from this crossover that we loved but we had to whittle the list down to just 15 (not an easy task, let me tell you!). What was your favourite moment?

A writer at heart with a fondness for well-told stories, Louis Skye is always looking for a way to escape the planet, whether through comic books, films, television, books or video games. She always has an eye out for the subversive and champions diversity in media.